Jim Birkholz never intended to become a farmer. “I was working for the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources and traveling all around the state meeting farmers and staff from Soil and Water Conservation Districts,” he explains. “Their stories appealed to me, but how do you get into farming if it isn’t in your family?” As the story goes, Jim told his wife Judy that he was heading out to buy a fishing boat one day. That evening, he came home with a truck. “The next year, I went out looking for a fishing boat again,” he laughs, “and that time, I came home with a farm.” 

Thirty-five years later, Pleasant Valley Orchard in Shafer is a well-known destination for Minnesota Grown apples, pick-your-own strawberries and pumpkins, hay rides, cider, and a “Twelve Days of Halloween” spooktacular celebration. Jim’s influence on farming and natural resources in Minnesota, and especially Chisago County, however, extends much further than the 71 acres of farmland that he tends. 

Jim started his career at the Ramsey Conservation District, where he served as the organization’s first district manager in 1978. “It was hands-on and I liked the work,” he says, “but we were a small organization with limited resources and we always struggled.” Three years later, he moved into a role with the Minnesota Soil and Water Conservation Board, this time working with Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCDs) throughout the eleven county metro area. His job was to make sure that staff and board members from the SWCDs were well-trained and that they were able to access grant funds for their work.  

In 1987, the Legislature combined the Soil and Water Conservation Board with two other organizations to become the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), which today oversees SWCDs, watershed management organizations, and water planning at counties around the state. Jim served as the agency’s acting director for its first five years. After that, he continued working at BWSR while nurturing his orchard “hobby” on the side. Eventually in 2002, Jim left state government and became a full-time farmer. Unwilling to leave his conservation roots behind, however, he ended up joining the Chisago SWCD Board Supervisors just a few years later.  

“When Jim joined the board in 2006, I was so impressed by his depth of experience in soil and water conservation,” says Craig Mell, Chisago SWCD’s District Manager. “Jim had been working with agencies all around the state and soon he became a mentor to me as well. His behind-the-scenes leadership has absolutely helped Chisago SWCD to grow into the organization it is today.”

One of the most impactful projects that Jim championed during his time on the board was an inventory of the St. Croix River escarpment lands, which began in 2011. Using a combination of aerial photography, GIS mapping, and on-the-ground investigations, staff at Chisago SWCD identified 36 high priority gullies in need of repair in order to protect the St. Croix River from erosion, sedimentation, and phosphorus pollution. Subsequently, the organization was able to tap into Clean Water Fund grants in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023 to repair more than 30 of those gullies. 

During this time period, Chisago SWCD also worked to build relationships with local farmers. For example, they worked with Mallery Jerseys, a 485-acre family-owned farm in Shafer located just down the road from Jim’s orchard, to install buffers, diversions, water and sediment control basins, and grade stabilizations to fix gullies and reduce erosion. The Mallerys also began implementing a nutrient management plan, constructed a large manure management system, and became certified through Minnesota’s Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. In fact, their commitment to conservation became so impressive, that they were awarded the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ (MASWCD) Outstanding Conservationist Award in 2021. 

Jim says he is also proud of the role he played in helping to develop the Lower St. Croix Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan, which brought together 15 local government partners in Chisago, Anoka, Isanti, Pine and Washington Counties. The plan is now in its fifth year of implementation and has spurred numerous water-quality improvement projects throughout the region. “Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really devoted people at all levels of government and I’m really proud to have been on those teams,” he says. 

In December, Jim Birkholz stepped down from the Chisago SWCD board after nearly 20 years of service. That same month, MASWCD honored him as their 2024 Outstanding SWCD Supervisor, in recognition of his many decades of work to protect Minnesota’s natural resources. “In life there are a few people that really make an impact on you,” says Craig Mell. “Outside of family, Jim is right there at the top of my list.”

Angie Hong coordinates the East Metro Water Education Program, a local government partnership with 30 members in Chisago, Isanti and Washington Counties – www.mnwcd.org/emwrep. Contact her at 651-796-2210 or angie.hong@mnwcd.org. You can also follow her @mnnature_awesomeness on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.